4 players the Tigers are missing dearly as playoff run continues vs Mariners

The Tigers escaped the Wild Card against the Guardians by the skin of their teeth. The offensive showing in Game 3 felt like a flip had finally switched, but there's still a lot more to prove going into the ALDS against the Mariners and hopefully even further.

Detroit has an imperfect roster, to say the least, and certain players' shortcomings definitely make it hard not to miss a few injured guys who could've made an impact.

4 players Tigers are missing dearly during playoff run

Reese Olson

Olson was looking for the first fully healthy season of his three-year career in 2025 and was enjoying his most promising performance to date when the Tigers dropped the bad news right around the trade deadline: he'd be going onto the 60-day IL with a shoulder issue and would miss the rest of the season.

Luckily, the injury didn't require surgery, and Olson could still potentially be back if the Tigers make a deep enough postseason run (though probably not unless they get to the World Series). On the bright side, the Tigers' starting pitching was solid in the Wild Card.

Matt Vierling

Vierling was the Tigers' postseason spark plug and veteran leader in 2024 as their only player with postseason experience (Javy Báez sat throughout October after hip surgery). This year, he only played in 31 regular season games between troubles with an oblique strain. He looked great in his last seven games in August and batted .368 with a .929 OPS, and that's the kind of production the Tigers' lineup would've loved in the first two games of the Wild Card.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press did report that Vierling could be with the team on taxi in Seattle, but it's unclear if he'll be ready to get back onto the field by the weekend.

Jackson Jobe

Jobe definitely won't be making a comeback this season, and might not even next season. He underwent Tommy John in June after being pulled early from a start against the Giants in May, and has been rehabbing in Texas since.

It was a massively disappointing early end for the Tigers' former No. 1 pitching prospect who was just starting to get into a groove at the major league level. The Tigers' postseason rotation, though good so far, is whittled down to just three official starters, and having Jobe healthy would've helped them avoid a few of their questionable trade deadline decisions, too.

Beau Brieske

Brieske had a tough, abbreviated 2025 season. He went onto the IL in mid-April with ankle inflammation and was back for about a month until being sent down in June after a blowup against the Orioles, when he gave up five runs in one-third of an inning. He was shut down completely with an elbow injury in August.

He was one of the pitchers at the forefront of the Tigers' pitching chaos last season, and he logged six postseason innings for a 1.50 ERA. A number of those relievers aren't with Detroit this postseason for one reason or another — Brieske, Jason Foley, Sean Guenther, Brenan Hanifee, Ty Madden — and the Tigers might've had fewer concerns about their bullpen if they were.